doozo oagari kudasai

どうぞお上がりください。: doozo oagari kudasai.
literal translation is "please go up".

What is that mean?

It's "Please come in"

(This phrase is for your guests at home, not  at office.)

Why is that?
Because of...

the structure of genkan (entrance space) of a house. This genkan space is for taking off your shoes.
As you see, inside of the house is one step higher than the area connected to outside.

This genkan space is very useful for changing shoes to slippers (you can sit and change if necessary.)  Also, you can keep the house clean). In case of rain, you can open or close your umbrella inside the house so that you won't get wet.

After taking off your shoes, you have to turn your shoes back so that you can put it on smoothly when you go out (as well as it looks better).

You can learn this kind of Japanese culture in my conversational Japanese Course.  http://learnjapanese123.com/conversation

Dewa mata!
-Kazue

omu soba

Looks delicious?
or yacky?
No No, this is extremely delicious. Totemo oishii desu.

This is omu-soba I had in Osaka.  Yakisoba (fried noodle) is in this omelet.
Actually, Osaka is a famous place for Okonomi-yaki, a Japanese pancake (cabbage, egg, flour, yam, plus whatever your favorite ingredients such as mochi (sticky rice cake), cheese, shrimp, pork, etc.)
This time, I had this omu-soba and tomato okonomi-yaki. :) kore mo oishikatta! (This one was also delicious)

Basically, there are two types of Okonomi-yaki: Osaka style and Hiroshima style. Osaka one mix all ingredients before grilling on teppan (heated iron plate) On the other hand, Hiroshima-style's ingredients are layered rather than mixed together.

By the way, Osaka is the place to eat. There are so many restaurants and food stalls along the streets.

The photo above is a famous icon in dooton-bori street. His name is Kuidaore Taro. Kuidaore means " eat until you  knocked out"
A company that used own this doll closed down few years ago, and now it's sold to photo shop for tourists. It's pity that we cannot take photo with Taro.

Today's Vocabulary

おいしい oishii  : delicious

うまい　umai : delicious ("damn good", but not decent way to say)

-Kazue

http://learnjapanese123.com 

oikura desu ka?

What if you are at a shop and cannot find a price tag, what to do?

Yes, you need to ask the price. How?

Sumimasen, ikura desu ka? or more decently,
Sumimasen, oikura desu ka?

What is this "o" in front of "ikura"?
This "o" is a prefix showing politeness. It just sounds nicer.
This "o" can attach to most of Japanese words, but not all of them.

Examples:
kane -> okane money
heya -> oheya room
sushi -> osushi sushi
miyage -> omiyage souvenir
denwa -> odenwa telephone

Also, you cannot attach "o" to foreign words.
Thus, we don't say "okonpyuutaa"(computer) or "otakushii" (taxi)

Some words start with "o", but it doesn't mean polite or not.
e.g.  ohayoo (good morning). However, "hayoo" doesn't make sense.

dewa mata!
-Kazue
http://learnjapanese123.com

ロマンスの神様 ~God of romance~

On yesterday's blog, I mentioned about shrine for love. So it reminds me this song.  ロマンスの神様　romansu no kamisama: God of romance.
A bit old but so popular that you'll hear this song in many places in Japan, especially during winter.

Here is a small Japanese lesson:
~♪ romansu no kamisama, kono hito deshoo ka?♪~

~deshoo ka? : (I'm) wondering if ~
kono hito: this person
Thus, this sentence means, "I'm wondering if this person (is Mr. right)."

other examples:
Ashita wa ame deshoo ka? : Wondering if it's going to rain tomorrow.
Kare wa kuru deshoo ka? : Wondering if he comes.

dewa mata! :)
-Kazue
Learn Japanese Extremely fast -> http://learnjapanese123.com

Shrine for love

There are more than 81,000 shrines in Japan.
What a surprise!  During new year days, Japanese people visit shrine(s) for a prayer.
About Jinja (Shinto Shrine ->http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shinto_shrine

Each shrine has its own specialty(ies). Shrines  for business, promotion, study, family safe, fertility, easy labor, health, wealth, ample harvest, traffic safety, ridding of bad luck, etc.
If you have any particular wishes, you go to its specialized shrine.

The photo below is a famous Jinja, Ikuta jinja, in Kobe. This shrine is for love (romance). Oh! so many people were queuing up. I missed a chance to offer a prayer with a vow. haha.
By the way, Japanese like to wear dark and monotonous color outfit.. including me.. I just noticed.



One of the fun parts of visiting shrine is food!
There are many food stalls along the roadside.

My friends got a grilled squid.
- Yaki ika-.  It was delicious. Oishi katta!

-Kazue

駅弁 eki ben

Bento sold at station, called eki ben.

The guy in the right was selling eki ben at Hakodate sta. in Hokkaido when I visit there last year end.

In Japan, you can find so many kinds of eki ben. Eating eki ben when you visit the region is one of the attractions of the trip. Eki ben is normally made with ingredients which are particular in the region.

My favorite eki ben is Tooge no kamameshi --> http://eki-ben.web.infoseek.co.jp/10gunma_yokokama.htm#yokokama

Kamameshi is "rice cooked with vegetables and chicken in a small individual pot". I remember I ate this tooge no kamameshi when I was young. In winters, my family used to go ski by a train, and it stops at Yokokawa sta. for about 5mins and people rush to the platform to buy this kamameshi. It was kind a thrilling and enjoyable moment. :)

Nowadays, you can buy many kinds of eki ben at department store. haha.
New Vocab:
駅弁 えきべん box lunch sold at railway stations
駅　えき eki: station
弁当　べんとう bentoo: box lunch (it not necessary to be a "lunch" though);p

-Kazue
Learn Japanese Effectively: http://learnjapanese123.com

How to say "What time is good for you?"

Vocabs:
itsu : when
ii : good
itsu ga ii ? : when is good for you?
nan ji : what time

nanji ga ii? : what time is good for you?
- ji wa doo? : how about -- o'clock?
sanji wa doo? : how about 3 o'clock?

You can learn casual Japanese like above from
http://learnjapanese123.com/conversation

Hope you like it :)